It wasn’t the first choice of an opponent for her next fight, but returning to the site where her career soared to new heights was enough to ultimately sell Jessica ‘CasKILLA’ McCaskill on the prospect of return business with Erica Farias.

“We actually had a chance to do a walk through the venue for a video with DAZN,” McCaskill (7-2, 3KOs) told BoxingScene.com of a pre-fight site visit ahead of her rematch with Argentina’s Farias (26-3, 10KOs) this Saturday at Wintrust Arena in her adopted hometown of Chicago, Illinois. “I feel it and look around to the empty stadium. My mom was in town, I’m seeing the crowd and the ring and able to envision it all.

“When we did the walk-in back in the locker room where we talked to (promoter Eddie Hearn), everything was very vivid. I felt like I can touch the action as it unfolded that night.”

McCaskill’s first act at the arena based on DePaul University campus marked what at the time served as the biggest win of her young career. Farias made her stateside debut in hopes of registering the fifth successful defense of her 140-pound title. McCaskill had other ideas, claiming a 10-round decision to win her first title.

It was her first victory in more than a year, one which made for a piece of history in Chicago as her July 2017 knockout win over Natalie Brown marked the first time ever a female bout headlined a card in the Windy City.

A Dec. 2017 lopsided loss to 2012 Olympic Gold medalist Katie Taylor wasn’t the encore McCaskill hoped for, but the win over Farias proved doubly sweet—not only returning to the win column but doing so in yet another watershed moment. Her title winning effort came in the first-ever female bout to air on then-debuting sports streaming service DAZN USA, which will carry Saturday’s show.

To this day, she remembers every moment of that night, the memories enhanced by her return to where it all began earlier this week.

“It was amazing. So many people came out to support,” McCaskill vividly recalls. “We hear the crowd erupting. I’m trained to hear my coach’s voice, but that night we heard other familiar voices, at times hearing a single voice cheering me on. It was such a thrill to defend the title at home, and even more to bring two belts back to Chicago for such a big event.”

Wedged in between came her second straight title win, outpoining Anahi Esther Sanchez in a fiercely-contested 10-round war of a unification bout this past May. The bout came as the chief support to the platform debut of rising lightweight star Devin Haney. 

Saturday’s card comes with an even greater feel. The event is topped by former World cruiserweight champion Oleksandr Usyk (16-0, 12KOs), the 2018 Fighter of the Year who has severed ties with his old division as he makes his heavyweight debut. The opportunity will come versus late replacement Chazz Witherspoon, with McCaskill’s return bout with Farias once again coming in supporting capacity.

Her placement on the card matters little, as she’s gone through plenty of tickets with her local faithful fortunate enough to be on hand for what will be a sold-out event by fight night. Consumer demand for Usyk’s first pro appearance in town has forced event handlers to continue to add seats, with a far greater buzz surrounding this weekend’s show than was the case when the venue played host to DAZN USA’s maiden voyage a year ago.

“It’s amazing to be a part of such a big event especially in my home city,” notes McCaskill, who relocated from St. Louis in 2012. “DAZN does a great job with having a female presence on its shows and I’m honored to have my third fight (on the streaming platform). Too many cards don’t even have one female fight; this one will have two with my teammate Summer Lynn making her pro debut (versus Jenna Johlin Thompson). 

“At first this wasn’t the fight I wanted, I’ve never been a big fan of rematches. But walking around (Wintrust) and watching that (first fight) unfold in front of my eyes all over again, I can’t wait for Saturday night.”

Jake Donovan is a senior writer for BoxingScene.com. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox